Fastening device



April 15, 1941. F, Q PURINTQN 2,238,865

FASTENING DEVICE Filed May 1, 1939 2 shew-sheet 1 \n\/e.nTov. Forres G. Purinon l byfwz @fw April 15, 1941 F. G. lPuRlNToN 2,238,865

FASTENING DEVICE Filed nay 1, 1959 2 sheets-sheet 2 Fig. 8. FgQ.

ra 5 62 52 6 lnvenor l Forresf G. Purnon so 54 5s M8 /55 :45e mel 5653 5| n Patented Apr. 15, *mi

FASTENING DEVICE Forrest G. Purinton, Waterbury, Conn., assigner to The Patent Button Company. Waterbury, Conn., a corporation oi' Connecticut Application May 1, 1939, Serial No. 271,088

3 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in fastening devices for releasably and yieldably clamping together two or more overlapped or juxtaposed members.

More particularly the invention relates to improvements in fastening devices for locking together metallic plates, such, for example, as locking a cover plate for a service opening in the body of an aeroplane to the metal plate forming the body of the aeroplane. It is some times desirable to have both plates lie in the same plane, such, for example, as a cover plate for an opening in the body of a streamlined aeroplane, and a further object of the invention is to provide a fastening device which will accomplish this purpose in such manner that the streamlined contour of the exterior of the aeroplane will be unobstructed by any projecting cover plate and in which the cover plate will be so held against the body that vibration therebetween will be prevented.

'I'he invention more particularly relates to improvements in fastening devices comprising a stud rotatably mountedv in one member or plate and having at or near its end a lateral extension or cross bar and in which the other fastening member comprises a resilient keeper rigidly mounted upon the other member or plate and provided Withan aperture complementary to the stud and its cross bar and so constructed that when the stud and its cross bar are inserted through the keeper and given a quarter turn which the keeper plate may be so secured to one of the members as to overlie an aperture therein and form an abutment against which the other member or plate may seat and be rigidly secured by the rotatable stud and its cross bar in such manner that the faces of the members will lie in the same plane, this construction being particularly adapted for releasably securing a cover plate or panel within the opening of the streamlined body of an aeroplane or in a construction in which it is desired that one of the faces of the device will present an unobstructed or streamlined surface.

These and other objects and )features of the invention will more fully appear from the following description and the accompanying drawings and will be particularly pointed out in the y claims.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a plan view oi one oi two members which are to be secured together having secured thereto a preferred form of keeper plate forming part of the invention;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of another plate which is adapted to be secured to the plate illustrated in Fig. 1 showing in full lines the end of the stud and its cross bar and in dotted lines the head of the stud which engages the other side of the plate;

Fig. 3 is a view mainly in central longitudinal section of the plates shown in Figs. 1 and 2 superimposed in assembled position with a stud extending through `the keeper and the cross bar .engaging the keeper in locked position;

Fig. 4 is an illustration of a modified form of the invention in which the keeper plate is substantially Ilat and is provided with inturned end portions secured to one of the plates by rivets passing through the plate and the inturned end portions;

Fig. 5 is an illustration of another modified form of the invention in which the keeper plate is flat and substantially parallel to the member to which it is attached and is provided with inturned end portions spaced from the body of the keeper plate and secured by rivets to the member to which it is attached;

Fig. 6 illustrates another modification of the invention in which the ends of the keeper plate are not only inturned but reversely turned so that the rivets which secure them to the member lie outside of the central area of the keeper plate;

Fig. 7 is another modified form of the invention in which the central portion of the keeper plate is spaced apart from the member to which its ends are attached by reversely curved portions located in proximity to the anchored ends;

Fig. 8 is a plan view of a corner of an outer member or plate having a recess in it with a closure plate fitting the recess and held in locked position therein by a keeper plate extending across the corner of the opening and engaged by a stud and cross bar mounted in the closure plate the construction being such that the outer plane of the plate and its closure lie in the same plane;

Fig. 9 is a view of two members abutting edge to edge and locked together by a keeper plate flxedly mounted upon one of said members and extending beyond the edge thereof, said keeper plate beingv engaged by a stud mounted in the other member having a cross bar engaging the keeper plate;

Fig. 10 is a sectional view on line i Il--I Il, Fig. 8l

the stud and cross bar being shown in elevation; lIiiig. 11 is a sectionalview on line I I-I I, Fig. Fig.'12 is a plan view of a construction, centrally broken away in bothdirections, in which the present invention is 4employed resiliently to lock a large panel in a complementary opening in a plate in such manner that the assembled plates will present a smooth continuous surface, the construction being such that the material cut from the larger plate may be employed-as the closure panel for the opening formed therein;` and,

aperture forming a keyhole' slot. the aperture 8 and receases I and I being of such size as to permit the stud and its cross bar to pass therethrough with any desirable clearance.

The keeper plate is provided preferably at its widest portion with diametrically opposite downwardly curved-sockets II and I2 to receive the ends of the cross bar 8 when the stud has been inserted through the aperture 8' and rotated through an angle of ninety-degrees. In the construction illustrated. bosses I3 and 'I4 are built Fig. 13 is a sectional view on 1ine- II-I3,

up or struck up from'the keeper plate 1 at diametrically opposite positions just beyond the sockets II and I2, thereby to engage the cross bar of the stud and prevent the stud from being rotated beyond locking position.

In each of the constructions illustrated the y central portion of the ,keeper plate is so confastening means comprises a stud which is rotatably Journaled in 'one of the mem-bers or plates with a head to engage the plate and a shank adapted to extend through an aperture in the other member and provided with a cross bar adapted to engage the keeper mounted upon the other member.

The invention is illustrated in Figs. 1 to 7 inclusive in forms for securing two superimposed or overlapping plates together. One of the plates I, which may for convenience be termed a .cover plate has rotatably mounted :in it a stud 2 having an enlarged head 3 adapted to engage one surface of the plate and which extends through an aperture 4 in another plate 5 which may be termed a main plate, such as the body of an aeroplane, or sheet metal wall of a casing receptacle or other device. The stud 2 is provided near its free end with a transverse bore in which is iixedly secured a cross bar or pin 6 the ends of which project beyond the shank of the stud, but are of such length as to pass through the aperture 4 when the plates i and 5 are brought together. A resilient keeper, which is xedly secured to the main plate 5, ,cooperates with the pin and its cross bar to lock the members together when the stud has been inserted through the main plate and given a quarter turn.

I am aware that resilient keepers of sheet metal and of wire have been heretofore employed to cooperate with the cross bars of locking studs of the character described, but the present invention differs ltherefrom in that it is so constructed as to provide means to engage the cross bar of the stud to prevent rotation in one direction and with means for guiding the cross bar into locking position when rotated in the other direction. It also comprises means to engage the cross bar when the stud is rotated preferably through an angle of ninety-degrees, with means for-positively preventing such further rotation of the stud as would be likely to release the locking engagement between the cross bar of the stud and keeper. The features above described are common to Aall the species of the invention which are illustrated in the drawings.

In the constructions illustrated in Figs. 1 to 7 the keeper is preferably a flat plate 1 of suitable resilient metal and desirably is generally of diamond shape. The central portion of the keeper plate is provided with a circular aperture 0 with recesses 9 and III extending from the structed and so spaced from the member to which it is attached that when the shank of the stud is passed through the aperture 4 and the members I and 5 brought together,the stud will be prevented from rotating in one direction such as a counter-clockwise direction. This may be accomplished by so spacing the keeper plate from the member to which it is attached that its central portion will lie above the horizontal plane of the axis of the cross bar 6 of the stud, but preferably the prevention of rotation oi the stud in such undesirable direction is insured by bending upwardly or outwardly diametrically opposite sections I5 and i6 of the walls of the recesses 8 and ill at their junction with the periphery of the aperture 8.

Inorder to enable the stud to be rotated in a locking direction, preferably a clockwise direction, the keeper plate 1 is provided at diametrically opposite points with downwardly inclined ramp portions I1 and I8 at the junction between the walls of the recesses 9 and I0 and that oi' the aperture 8. When therefore the stud is rotated in a clockwise direction the ends of the cross bars 6 will engage the ramps I1 and i8 and as the stud is rotated will ride up upon said ramps, thereby forcing the central portion of the keeper downwardly so that the keeper will exert a progressively increasing elastic force upon the stud until the stud is rotated to the position in which the ends of the cross bar 6 drop into the locking sockets ii and I2 of the keeper.

In the construction shown in Fig. 3 the central portion of the keeper 1 inclines upwardly from its end portions I9 and 20, which are respectively secured to the member or plate 5 by rivets r2| and 22 to the locking sockets. When the stud is rotated in a locking direction the cross bar 6 l'of the stud rides up the ramps I'I and I8, thereby exerting a toggle-like action upon the oppositely inclined central portions of the keeper. Inasmuch as the ends of the keeper are rigidly and immovably secured to the plate 5 any load upon the resilient keeper will tend to put the material of the keeper under compression and the greater the load the greater compression and resistance to deflection.

One of the objects of the invention is to provide a construction in which the movement of the stud to locking position will not put the metal of the keeper under compression or increase the resistance to deflection by the increase in load, but upon the contrary will enable the material of the keeper to be placed under tension as the stud is rotated to and maintained in locking position.

of the plate longitudinally of the keeper Various forms oi' construction which em this vfeature of the invention are illustrated in Figs. 4. 5, 6, and 7. In the construction illustrated in Fig. 4 the keeper 1 is in the i'orm oi' a `fiat plate ot general diamond-shaped contour as illustrated inFig. l, but the relatively narrow en d portions 23 are reversely bent beneath the body of the plate so that these end portions 2l l provide spacers to engage the main plate or mem ber i. Rivets 24, which are seated in the plate l. pass through suitable holes in the inturned ends 2l and the body o1' th keeper 1 and rigidly secure the ends of the keeper to the plate I, so

that its body is narrowly spaced away from the adjacent suriaceof the plate l. When the members I and l are brought together and the stud 2 passed through the aperture 4 in the plate I and the stud rotated in a clockwise direction. 'the stud i will ride upthe ramps I1 and Il thereby depressing the central portion oi the keeper 1 and placing it under tension as the stud is moved toward and retained in locking position.

'In such case the deflection of the plate 1 to provide proper resilient locking engagement may be much less than in the construction illustrated in Fig. 3. Furthermore it greater spring action is required a thicker or heavier stock may be employed than would be possible in the construction shown in Fig. 4, in which the resistance to the toggle-like action is progressively increased in accordance with the thickness or strength 'of the resilient plate.

Furthermore, in the construction illustrated in Fig. 4, the keeper plate may be brought much nearer to the main plate 5, thus reducing the length of the projection which is greatly advantageous Where the keeper plate is mounted, for example, upon an engine cowling, as a mechanic working through the panel opening will be less liable to catch his clothing on the stud or the nat spring.

Another modification of the invention is' illusplate is connected to and oilset from the end portions il by s-shaped or ogee-shaped sections 32.

In this construction the tensile force which is exerted upon 'the central nat portion of the keeper kwhen the stud and its cross b'ar are turned to locking position is partially absorbed by the resilience ofV the S-shaped sections 32. As a consequence this construction can be employed where a minimum elastic force is necessary to hold the members in locked position, or conversely' a much heavier or stiller locking keeper may be employed than in the previous constructions.

Preferred embodiments of the invention are illustrated in Figs. 8, 9, 10, l1 and 12 of the drawings, as applied to a stream line construction in which` a' panel or filler plate 33 is locked in closed position within a complementary aperture trated in Fig. 5, in which the keeper 1 is in the form of a ilat resilient plate having inturne'd ends 25 which, however, instead' of being folded against the under face of the keeper plate 1 are spaced therefrom to present a looped end portion 26 adapted to give the keeper platevgreater resllience when placed under tension. In this construction the keeper plate is provided near the inturned ends with apertures 21 of suillcient sizeA to permit access to rivets `2l which secure the inturned ends of the keeper plate Ato the main plate 5. In all other respects this construction embodies the distinctive features of the invention above described to which the same numerals are applied.

Another modied form of the invention is illustrated in Fig. 6 in which the inturned end portions 29 of the keeper plate instead of being bent back directly under the body portion are twisted in angular relation to the longitudinal axis of the keeper plate, thereby so exposing the inturned ends asto enable free access to the rivets 30 by which the keeper plate is secured to the main plate or member of the assemblage. In this construction the central portion of the keeper plate preferably is ilat and disposed in parallelism to the main plate or member 5 and is spaced apart therefrom a desirable distance as indicated in Fig. 5.

Another specific embodiment of the invention is shown in Fig. 7 in which the ends 3l of the keeper plate are reversely bent in two directions so that the central nat portion of the keeper in a main plate I4. The construction shownin Fig. 8 illustrates one corner of a rectangular main plate 34 having a rectangular area bounded by lines and 3l cui. out of its central portion with the closure plate 33 closely fitting the opening and lying in the same plane therewith as illustrated in Fig. 10. Keeper plates are secured diagonally across the corner areas of the aperture. These keeper plates are of resilient metal having flat end portions 31 which are secured tor the plate 34 by rivets 38 or in any other suitable manner. The central portion of the keeper plate comprises an arch-shaped section 39 which is integral with and extends upwardly from the plane of the end portions 31 and is so constructed as to embody the distinctive features of the keepers above described, including the socket to receive the cross ibar of the stud, the upturned wall to prevent rotation of the stud in one direction, the ramp to cause rotation of the stud in a direction to lock the parts together, and the abutmnts for preventing rotation of the stud beyond locking position.

The locking 'stud 4|) having a cross bar 4i is rotatably mounted in the corner portion of the closure plate 3l and the stud and its cross bar are adapted to pass through complementary recesses in the vcentral portion 39 of the keeper plate and rotated to locking position in the mannerabove described. Obviously any of the forms of 'keepers shown in Figs. 1 to 7 may be adapted for use with the locking studs and their cross bars fr clamping and locking a panel in an opening in a main plate as well as for use in locking together two superimposed plates.

Any suitable number of locking devices of this character may be employed properly to hold the closure plate 33 releasably in locked position.

.It will be noted that in this embodiment of the til) invention the end yportions 31 of the keeper plate extendover the aperture in the main plate 34 suiilciently Ito form a backing for the closure plate so that the opposite face of the closure plate will lie in the same plane as the corresponding face of the main plate 34.

Another adaptation of the invention is shown in Figs. 9 and l1 as securing two similar plates together in edge to edge relation. In this construction the keeper plate is formed of flat resilient metal having fiat end portions 42 which are secured to amain plate 43 by rivets 44 in such manner that the keeper plate extends beyond the line 45 which represents the edge of the main plate against which the edge of a complementary plate 46 abuts. The central portion 41 of the keeper plate'ls arched upwardly from its end portions 42 and is provided with a central circular stud-receiving aperture and communicating recesses 48 through which the cross bar 48 of' a stud 50 may be inserted. Preferably 'these recesses extend transversely of the length of the keeper plate and may be of such length as to vproject into the ,liat end portions 42 of the keeper plate. In this construction as in those previously described the diametrically opposite walls of the aperture are respectively so formed as to prevent rotation of the locking stud in one direction and to provide oppositely disposed ramps for engagement by the cross bar of the stud when rotated in the opposite direction, as heretofore described.

Another embodiment of the invention is illustrated in Figs. l2 and 13 which may be employed when a main plate 5I of large size is provided with a large opening adapted to be closed by a closure plate or panel 52 seated within said opening and presenting a surface flush with that of the main plate. In this construction the keeper plates are in the form of long strips of resilient metal having end portions 53 and 54 and a central portion 55 all lying in the same plane and secured to the main plate 5| at suitable intervals as by rivets 55. Intermediate portions 5T and 58 of the resilient keeper plate located at desirable distances from each other are bent upwardly or, offset from the ends and central portion and are provided with apertures and communi-- eating slots 59` forming keyhole slots to receive the cross bars GII of studs BI which are rotatably mounted in the closure plate 52.

These keeper plates are so secured to the main vplate 5I as to overlie suitable portions of the large aperture in the plate 5| so that locking studs suitably mounted in the closure plate or panel 52 will cooperate with the offset apertured portions of the keeper plate. In this construction the ends 53 and 54 of the keeper plate preferably will overlie the end portions of the aperture in the main plate 5l and together with the central portion 55 form a backing for the closure plate or panel 52 which will hold the opposite surface of the panel in the same plane as that of the corresponding surface of the main plate 5|. The offset portions of the keeper plate embody the same features of construction with respect to preventing rotation of the locking stud in one direction and for placing the resilient offset portions of the locking plate under tension when the stud is rotated to locking position and the means for preventing rotation of the stud beyond locking position as has heretofore been described.

The constructions illustrated in Figs. 8 and 10, and 12 and 13, are particularly advantageous 1. Releasable means for fastening to amain plate of sheet material having an "aperture therethrough a panel of sheet material ntting said aperture, with the edges of said plate and panel in edge to edge abutting relationship, and with the outer surfaces of said plate and panel in the same plane, comprising an integral separately formedkeeper attached to the rear of said main plate and extending beyond the edge of said aperture over a portion of the area to be covered by the panel and providing a stop againstwhich said panel may be clamped, said keeper having aperture with the edges of the plate and panel in edge to edge abutting relationship and with their outer surfaces in the same plane, comprising an integral separately formed keeper extend` ing across a portion of the area of said aperture and lixedly Asecured at its ends to the rear face of said main plate to provide a stop against which the panel may be clamped, said keeper having an intermediate offset resilient portion provided with a keyhole slot spaced from the panel when the latter is' in position against said keeper, a locking stud rotatably mounted in said panel having a cross bar in its end of greater length than the diameter of the-,stud adapted to be inserted through said keyhole slot, and interengaging means on said stud and the resilient portion of said keeper operable to lock the panel firmly against said keeper upon par-i tial rotation of said stud and to prevent reverse rotation of said stud. i

3. Releasable means for fastening to a-main plate of sheet material having an aperture therethrough a panel of sheet material fitting said aperture with the edges of said plate and panel in edge to edge abutting relationship and with l their outer surfaces in thel same plane, comprising an integral separately formed keeper plate attached to the rear face of said main plate and extending diagonally across a corner portion of said aperture and secured at its end to said main plate providing a stop'against which the panel may be clamped, said keeper platehaving an intermediate onset resilient portion provided with a keyhole slot spaced from said panel when the latter is in position against saidl keeper, a lockin the manufacture of aeroplane parts and the like for the reason that it enables the panel of any size or contour to vbe cut by a suitable thin tool from the main plate and afterwards employed as a closure for the aperture thus formed.

It will be understood that the several embodi-1 y ments of the invention shown and described herein are of an illustrative character and are not ing stud rotatably mounted in said panel having a head engaging the outer face of said panel and having a transverse cross bar extending through the upper end of said shankv adapted together with the end of said stud to be inserted through the keyhole slot insaid keeper, the resilient portion of said keeper havingjneans operable upon rotation of said studfto -draw said panel firmly against said keeper and having means to prevent rotation. of said stud and thereby to lock the panel firmly against vibration or displacement. A

FORREST G. PURIN'I'ON. 

